"What's Going On the Last Part of the 1st Year?"

Owen and Emmaline had their much anticipated nine month check-up on Tuesday, and at their appointment, we were given little information sheets where their statistics had been filled in and a little paragraph about baby development. We receive these at the end of every check-up, and they are very handy for remembering the barrage of information thrown at us in such a short appointment time. Anyway, the top of this particular one reads "What's Going On the Last Part of the 1st Year?" What?! The last part of the first year? I try not to think about this, thank you very much. :) We still have three months to go, dumb sheet!

So, what IS going on with Owen and Emmaline? They both have a terrific sense of humor, and I find myself laughing out loud a lot! Most of the time, I'm not really sure what is cracking them up, but my favorite is when they are scooting around together on the floor, put their heads together so they're touching, and start giggling.

Emmaline's strengths are in her motor, and Owen is more verbal. He was even showing off for the pediatrician, and started his "Owie talk" where I think only he knows what he is saying. He's been doing it since his four month appointment, but lately it's really starting to sound like words. Emmaline talks too, but concentrates more on moving around. She makes it very difficult to change her clothes and diaper, and breaks out into giggles when we try to hold her down to change her. Both kids aren't crawling, but look more like they're wading and scooting. Owen is most content sitting on the floor and talking intently to a toy, and Emmaline's latest conquest is moving faster, so that's typically what they're up to.

For the past month, they have four bottles and three meals a day. Owen is always hungry, where Emmaline will pace herself and stop when she's done. Right now, they are practicing feeding themselves while I spoonfeed them. The pediatrician thinks they are ready for "whatever we're eating" (though neither has any teeth) and said I can stop serving baby food or even mashing food. All this meant to me is that we're going to have to start eating healthier! :)

We still have tiny babies, but they're making great progress! Our pediatrician asked us how tall we were and when we told him (Vince is 6 feet and I'm 5'2"), he got a "that explains it!" look on his face (Owen is shaping up to be long and thin and Emmaline is, well...short).

Owen
Weight: 18 lbs 2 oz (15th percentile); Length: 28 1/2 inches (60th percentile); Head: 18 inches (60th percentile)

Emmaline
Weight: 17 lbs 4 oz (25th percentile); Length: 26 3/4 inches (25th percentile); Head: 17 1/4 inches (45th percentile)

I tried to take a few pictures of them in some chairs in our office, and they were both so distracted with the things around them, it was a botched photo shoot (but still adorable, of course!)

And, a few more of them playing, though still not much interest in the camera!

"Ella, bring us the toy!"

Twins Twins, Everywhere!

Before I had twins, I didn't realize just how many sets of multiples there are, and how quickly I would bond with other twin moms. A couple of months ago, I met two twin moms at Target (God bless Target) and we quickly exchanged emails. As it turns out, they are also both in Junior League, we are all very close in age, AND we all go to the same pediatrician group. It was meant to be! :)

We got together with one of my "Target friends," Jennifer, and her twins, Cameron and Noelle, at the Arboretum a few weeks ago.

We need some shades, Mom!

For the past two weeks, this house has been an infirmary, I got a nasty cold and the babies got it too, so that is my blog hiatus excuse. Thankfully my sister was planning on a visit, though I doubt she thought it would be when we were all sick!

We all recovered in enough time to attend two birthday parties this past Saturday, and they were both boy/girl twin parties! At each party, there were four sets of twins. We were immersed in Twinland for an afternoon, and it was so much fun! Jennifer's twins turned one, and our neighbors' twins turned four. I took plenty of mental notes to prepare for our big bash in July.

Our friends Nancy, Kevin and their five-month old daughter Julianne were in Dallas from Tulsa last weekend, and it was our first time to meet Julianne! Nancy is my oldest, bestest friend :), so I was so anxious to meet her sweet girl. Unfortunately, we were still coming off of the yucky cold, so we had to not get too close so we didn't share cooties!

In this picture: Babies who are confused as to which camera to look at; Kevin's arms

Easter Weekend

We celebrated Easter weekend in Oklahoma with our families, and it was busy busy busy! Owen and Emmaline got to celebrate twice (it's a hard, hard life they have!), with my family in Norman on Saturday and Vince's in Hydro on Sunday. My mom also came out to Hydro on Saturday to get more Grammy time!

We went to church Sunday morning in Hydro, and the kids spent their first time in the church nursery. I was a little nervous since Emmaline has been experiencing stranger danger the past few months (where as Owen will literally go home with anyone, need to watch that kid). After some convincing from my sister-in-law, we left them to play and when we came back, they were laughing and happy, especially Emmaline. An Easter/twin miracle!

But, when we got back to Dallas, Emmaline resumed her scowling, hesitance and occasional bursting into tears when someone besides her parents or our friends who she sees regularly looked at her. Such as strangers walking up to say "are they twins? are they identical? do they sleep at the same time? double trouble! here comes trouble! you have a handfull! were you huge (I'm not making that one up)? were you on bed rest? bless your heart. do twins run in your family? oh, I've always wanted twins. how did you get twins, did you tell your doctor you wanted to have twins and you got them (not making that one up either)? twins run in my boyfriend's family..." I digress.

Below are pictures of our fun weekend!

Grammy with Emmaline in Hydro.

Daddy and cousin Fletcher spiked Emmaline's mohawk!

"Thanks E. Bunny!"

"Huh, this looks like something I could whack Emmaline with..."

"I'm stacking my loot in my lap."

Owen and Uncle Matt, as Owen was getting grumpy!

Aunt Lisa reading Emmaline a book from her Easter basket.

Owen slept through Easter basket time in Norman at Uncle Matt's house!

Aunt Lisa and Owen during lunch in Norman. Owen is holding on to his celly!

Blog Catch-Up

Easter weekend was such a blur, we went to Oklahoma to see our families but the weekend was way too short! We took lots of cute pictures though, and I will post them later this week.

Last weekend, I co-hosted my friend Bianca's shower at my house, and it turned out beautifully (if I do say so myself!). Vince whisked the kids away to the Arboretum and we kicked the weiner dog (precious Ella) back to the bedroom so we could have a girls-only-adult time.

Hostesses with the Mostesses: Darby, Mommy-to-Be, Becky and moi.

Bianca's adoring friends and family.

Vince has been working away on The Shed, and finished the roof. While he worked, I put Owen and Emmaline outside on the patio to watch in their excersaucer and jumper. They really love to be outside, and since the weather has warmed up, I've discovered it's a great way to calm them down if they're fussy.

Hard at work on The Shed.

"Could Dad use this on The Shed?"

Watching Dad work on The Shed.

We met Bianca for lunch a few days before her shower at The Purple Cow, and she brought her camera and took these adorable pictures!

Owen and Aunt B.

"My goldfish just died."

"Aunt B, give us some of your fries!"

The Baby iPod

I haven't posted videos in a while, but decided these two were too funny not to share!

One of Emmaline and Owen's favorite toys is a Baby Einstein toy we discovered during a visit from our friends Sarah, Bryan and Luke last September. When they were tiny, they loved looking at the moving lights while I held it. Now that they're older, they can control it better, and Emmaline likes to rock out to the music! Also, notice her mohawk, it's getting darker!



This video was taken earlier this month. Lot's of yelling! :)

"Sarah, Your Shed is Almost Ready"

At our house, beautiful spring weather invites man projects. Such as building sheds in the backyard. :) We have discussed the need for more storage space for a while, so Vince, when he found out his brother Daniel would be on Spring Break from school, invited him to Dallas for week of shed building. Who needs the beach anyway?

Although sarcastic one-liners were tossed around by all (such as Vince announcing that he is working really hard on MY shed, ha!) :), I am pretty impressed with what they have put together so far. I enjoyed seeing Vince have so much fun working outside with his brother, and they didn't even let the sudden snow sleet and snow stop them over the weekend. It's almost done, and we will post pictures of Vince's Shed when it's complete.

Also, my mom came to visit for a couple of days, and my sister arrived the evening my mom left to stay for a few days. I had so much help and Owen and Emmaline had so much fun, we were all so sad to see our family leave. Seriously, I couldn't have asked for a more helpful group, especially while Vince was at work during the week.

Today it was just me and the kids, and I think they missed all of the activity. We did a little shopping for my friend Bianca's baby shower at my house this weekend, and spent a some time outside enjoying the gorgeous weather (and admiring Vince's Shed, of course).

Vince's Shed with the builders.

Working on Vince's Shed in the freezing cold.

The flash causes funny faces!

Owen's beautiful eyes (and strange appetite)

"Um, why am I in this thing when there are more than enough people here to hold me?"

Daniel aka The Manny aka Shed Builder

Aunt Lisa posing for a picture with Owen in his festive St. Patty's green before heading down to Austin.

I think Emmaline was trying to strike a cute pose too!

Precious!

"Helloooo out there!"

The Latest and Greatest

Well, nothing exciting to report, but I wanted to share a few cute pictures (the last two were actually taken a little over a month ago, but I have to share!). And, a few recent developments with Owen and Emmaline:
- Owen and Emmaline do NOT like green vegetables. It is a struggle to make the vegetables attractive to both of them, and I've done everything short of eating them myself! :) They're fruit kids, and who can blame them? I would personally rather eat apples and blueberries than green beans or peas!
- They are sitting up on their own with a Boppy pillow to help support. I feel a little guilty because, with two, it's hard to sit them up casually in my lap for constant practice, so they've been a little slower. We're working on it!
- Teething is in full force, ugh! So, drool, drool everywhere, interrupted naps and occasional crabbiness happens, but we have an arsenal of teething toys at the ready in the fridge. No teeth are visible yet!
- We had our first play group last Wednesday, and Owen and Emmaline were the youngest, with the oldest around 2. So cute! It was fun to get together with other moms my age who live in my area and watch my kids interact with others. They mostly watched the "big" kids play and played with a few toys. We're looking forward to more get togethers!

A playgroup picture, taken just as I was getting ready to head out the door with two tired babies. The other kids were so sweet to Owen and Emmaline!

Emmaline: "Chicky pink hooded towels are the next fashion trend."

Owen: "This towel is delicious!"

"No wonder Mom has so many pairs of shoes! So much fun!"

Owen: "Speaking of fashion trends, I say pulling your pants up to your knees and wearing cowboy boots will be the next!"

Emmaline: "The camera again? Seriously, we're trying to play here."